E86 - "Everything They Sold You Is Fake" — He Quit His Job to Prove It | Van Man

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If you've been in the health-conscious space online, you've seen Van Man products everywhere — tallow balm, eggshell tooth powder, fluoride-free mouthwash. But most people don't know the story behind the brand.

In this episode, Jeremy Ogorek sits down with Hans to talk about losing everything in a New York tech startup, moving back in with his mom, buying a van, and accidentally stumbling into a health brand that's now replacing every product in your bathroom — and soon, your pantry too. We also get into the "everything is a lie" awakening, why fluoride was his first red flag, what's actually in the products you put on your skin, and how he's now selling $6 grass-fed smash burgers out of a restaurant in Pacific Beach that keeps selling out.

If you've been rethinking what you put on and in your body, this one's for you.

Chapters:

00:00 – Opening segment

01:25 – Van's background: CPA, quitting his first job, joining a NYC tech startup

05:15 – The startup collapse: $8M raised, celebrity investors, and losing everything

08:55 – Fluoride as the first red flag and the origin of the eggshell tooth powder

14:05 – How the tallow balm was born and why it went viral

19:00 – "Your skin is a mouth" — the philosophy behind Van Man products

21:25 – Product lineup: deodorant, sunscreen, bug balm, soap, shampoo, eye cream

30:30 – The Van Man restaurant in Pacific Beach: $6 grass-fed burgers

36:00 – The business model: restaurants, gas stations, and movie theaters as product "stunts"

43:25 – Other clean brands: Masa Chips, Orum, Rosie's Chips

53:00 – Vaccines, home birth, and the broader health awakening

57:00 – What's next: tallow popcorn, clean Snickers bars, cough drops, and an RFK collab

1:04:15 – Closing segment

Key Takeaways:

Tallow isn't a trend — it's a return to what worked for thousands of years. People are reporting cleared rosacea, vanishing acne, and healed scars from a balm made of five ingredients you could eat. Meanwhile, the dermatologist-recommended steroid creams weren't solving the same problems in a decade.

Your skin is your largest organ, and it absorbs what you put on it. If you wouldn't eat the ingredients in your lotion or deodorant, ask yourself why you're comfortable rubbing them into your skin — especially in high-absorption areas like your armpits.

Fluoride was the first domino. It's the only non-opt-in medication — it's in your tap water, your toothpaste, and it's free. Once you ask why they care so much about your cavities, the rest of the questioning begins.

The restaurant isn't really about the restaurant. Van Man Burgers in Pacific Beach sells $6 grass-fed smash burgers at near break-even. The real play is getting clean products in front of new customers. Every "stunt" — restaurant, gas station, movie theater — is a storefront for the mission.

You don't need permission to start. Van went from credit card debt and a van to building a brand, a restaurant, and a product line — all by following his gut, tweeting his thoughts, and making products he wanted to use himself. The XP comes from doing, not reading.